HB640

Regular Session

Relating to the office hours of an election authority during an election period.

LowStandard timeline

Low Cost

Effective:2025-06-20

Enforcing Agencies

Texas Secretary of State (Elections Division) • County Clerks • City Secretaries • Local Political Subdivisions

Compliance Analysis

Key implementation requirements and action items for compliance with this legislation

Implementation Timeline

Effective Date: June 20, 2025 (Note: Passage by supermajority accelerated this date from the standard September 1 schedule).
Compliance Deadline: June 20, 2025. Election authorities must apply this definition to any statutory deadlines falling on or after this date.
Agency Rulemaking: No state-level rulemaking is required. However, local political subdivisions must internally codify their "main business office" hours immediately to prevent challenges.

Immediate Action Plan

Immediate: Verify the "Election Calendar" for any upcoming special elections to ensure deadlines falling after June 20 exclude days the main office is closed.
Immediate: Issue an internal memo confirming the entity's official operating hours for the remainder of 2025.
By June 20: Update the "Elections" page on your entity’s website to clearly state that election business hours mirror standard administrative office hours.
By July 1: Audit vendor contracts to identify any discrepancies in "business day" definitions.

Operational Changes Required

Contracts

Election Services Agreements (ESAs): Review all active agreements with third-party vendors (voting machines, ballot printing). Ensure the definition of "business day" in the contract aligns with the new statutory definition to prevent breach of contract claims regarding delivery timelines.
Vendor SLAs: Vendors servicing political subdivisions must adjust Service Level Agreements. If a client (e.g., a City) operates on a 4-day workweek, the vendor cannot count the closed day (e.g., Friday) as a "business day" for turnaround times unless the contract explicitly overrides the statute.

Hiring/Training

Staff Training: City Secretaries, County Clerks, and Elections Administrators must train staff on the new calculation method for statutory windows (filing periods, contest deadlines). Staff must understand that if the main office is physically closed, the election clock stops.

Reporting & Record-Keeping

Official Hours Documentation: You must maintain a formal administrative memo, ordinance, or resolution establishing the "main business office" hours. This document serves as the primary legal defense if a candidate claims a deadline was miscalculated.
Public Notice: Update all physical and digital "Notice of Deadline to File" postings to explicitly reflect the hours of the main business office.

Fees & Costs

Budget Impact: Negligible. No new fees are introduced.
Potential Savings: Reduces legal costs associated with litigation over ambiguous filing deadlines during irregular work weeks.

Strategic Ambiguities & Considerations

"Summer Hours" & Partial Days: The statute defines hours based on when the office is "regularly open." It does not explicitly address seasonal shifts (e.g., "Summer Hours" where offices close at noon on Fridays).
*Guidance:* If your entity adopts seasonal hours, you must treat the partial closure as a non-business period for election filings to avoid disenfranchisement claims.
Remote Work vs. Physical Access: The law ties the definition to the "main business office." If staff works remotely but the physical office is locked, this likely fails the statutory requirement for being "open."
*Guidance:* Ensure physical access is available during all claimed business hours.

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Legislative Timeline

This bill's path through the Texas Legislature

TopicsElections Elections--administration Elections--general Political Subdivisions

Official Analysis

View HRO Analysis View All Bill Documents

BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 640

By: Bumgarner

Elections

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Currently, the offices of certain election authorities must remain open during an active election period for a minimum of three hours each day, during regular office hours, on regular business days. However, this requirement does not apply to the main business office of an independent school district because the applicable statute specifically provides that a regular business day for a school district means a day on which the district's main business office is regularly open for business. The author of the bill notes that inconsistencies arise when a school district's main business office that is otherwise regularly open for business is regularly closed for business on a weekday holiday, such as Good Friday, while the offices of other election authorities regularly remain open on such holidays. H.B. 640 seeks to address this issue by specifying that a "regular business day" for the main business office of a county, city, or other political subdivision means a day on which the main business office of the entity is regularly open for business.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 640 amends the Election Code, with respect to the required office hours of an election authority during an election period, to make applicable to the main business office of a county, city, or other political subdivision the provision, which is currently applicable only to the main business office of an independent school district, providing that a "regular business day" for purposes of those office hours means a day on which the main business office is regularly open for business.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2025.

House Authors

Rep. Ben BumgarnerRepublican · Primary Author

Joint Authors

Coauthors (1)

Terri Leo-Wilson (R)

Senate Sponsor

Sen. Tan ParkerRepublican · Primary Sponsor

Bill Text(with markup)

H.B. No. 640

View bill text in multiple formats on Texas Legislature website

Fiscal NoteView Original

	AN ACT
	relating to the office hours of an election authority during an
	election period.
	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
	SECTION 1. Section 31.122(b), Election Code, is amended to
	read as follows:
	(b) In this section, "regular business day" [~~If the~~
	~~political subdivision is an independent school district, a regular~~
	~~business day~~] means a day on which the [~~school district's~~] main
	business office of the county, city, or other political subdivision
	is regularly open for business.
	SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2025.

LEGISLATIVE BUDGET BOARD
Austin, Texas

FISCAL NOTE, 89TH LEGISLATIVE REGULAR SESSION


March 10, 2025

TO:	Honorable Matt Shaheen, Chair, House Committee on Elections

FROM:	Jerry McGinty, Director, Legislative Budget Board

IN RE:	HB640 by Bumgarner (Relating to the office hours of an election authority during an election period.), As Introduced

No fiscal implication to the State is anticipated.

Local Government Impact

No significant fiscal implication to units of local government is anticipated.

Source Agencies:

LBB Staff:

JMc, FV, BC, CWi

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Frequently Asked Questions

Common questions about HB640

What does Texas HB640 do?

HB640 standardizes the definition of a "regular business day" for all political subdivisions (cities, counties, MUDs) under the Election Code, mandating that election authority office hours mirror the entity's main business office hours. This legislation eliminates ambiguity regarding four-day workweeks and irregular closures, requiring immediate recalibration of statutory filing deadlines for all elections held after June 20, 2025. Implementation Timeline Effective Date: June 20, 2025 (Note: Passage by supermajority accelerated this date from the standard September 1 schedule).

Who authored HB640?

HB640 was authored by Texas Representative Ben Bumgarner during the Regular Session.

When was HB640 signed into law?

HB640 was signed into law by Governor Greg Abbott on June 20, 2025.

Which agencies enforce HB640?

HB640 is enforced by Texas Secretary of State (Elections Division), County Clerks, City Secretaries and Local Political Subdivisions.

How urgent is compliance with HB640?

The compliance urgency for HB640 is rated as "low". Businesses and organizations should review the requirements and timeline to ensure timely compliance.

What is the cost impact of HB640?

The cost impact of HB640 is estimated as "low". This may vary based on industry and implementation requirements.

What topics does HB640 address?

HB640 addresses topics including elections, elections--administration, elections--general and political subdivisions.

Legislative data provided by LegiScanLast updated: November 25, 2025

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